


Companionship

by amarielah



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), YuYu Hakusho
Genre: Companions, Crossover, Family, Family Feels, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2017-11-26 04:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/646550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amarielah/pseuds/amarielah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A visitor shows up at the Minamino household, and it turns out that Shiori has some secrets of her own. It also turns out that even millennia-old demons can have trouble dealing with time-traveling aliens appearing in their kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Companionship

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic a few years ago, and I'm still rather fond of it. I just really get a kick out of putting Kurama in awkward situations.

“Could you please come here, Shuichi?” called his mother from the kitchen.

“Yes, mother,” Kurama called back, putting down his pencil.

When he arrived, she was at the stove. “I know you must be busy with homework, but we’re having guests over tonight. Would it trouble you too much to lend me a hand?”

Kurama smiled, happy to finally have the opportunity spend some time with her. The Dark Tournament had interfered with such things, and his mother was far more important than his homework.

“Of course, mother. I would be happy to.”

She turned around, giving him an affectionate smile, then returned to her cooking. “Thank you. I normally wouldn’t bother you, but it’s important that I…well, I really like Mister Kazuyu.”

Kurama understood. She wished to make a good impression on Iori Kazuyu—her boyfriend of about a month now. This was the first time she had invited him, and his son Shuichi, into her home, and she was obviously very nervous.

Kurama would be as supportive as possible: he wanted her to be happy.

“What do you need me to do?”

“I would very much appreciate it if you would set the table.”

He got to it, retrieving the ‘fancy’ dishes and tablecloth from the dining room cabinet. It was the set his mother always used on special occasions.

He did it quickly. But as he laid down the final set of chopsticks, he heard a peculiar noise. It sounded almost like a helicopter starting up.

He sensed no strange energy. However, the hair on the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably.

“Mother,” he muttered, immediately worried for her safety. He was a demon of fairly substantial power, but she…

If it—whatever it was—posed a threat, she would be the one in the greatest danger.

He sprinted back to the kitchen. “Mother!” he cried out as soon as he saw her. Her face was ashen, her eyes fixed ahead of her. “What’s the matter?”

“It isn’t possible…” she breathed.

“What…?” He started, before noticing what it was that she was so intent upon.

A…blue telephone box. In the middle of the kitchen.

A blue telephone box that was most certainly not supposed to  _be_  in the middle of the kitchen.

“It’s him,” she whispered, eyes wide. “He’s here. But why?”

“Mother?” asked Kurama, even more worried than before. His mother knew what was going on. And, judging by the expression on her face, it was not something that would end well. He walked up to her cautiously, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. “Who’s here? Is he dangerous?”

His touch and inquiry seemed to jolt her out of her thoughts. She blinked rapidly, the colour returning to her face. “Dangerous?” she asked, as if the idea was the most preposterous thing in the world. “Oh no. Not dangerous. Just…unexpected.”

Her eyes went wide again, only this time it was due to something else entirely. She turned quickly to Kurama, touching his hand with her own. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Shuichi! I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just a little shocked. Please don’t worry—we’re perfectly safe.”

Kurama frowned imperceptible, detecting a hint of deception in her tone. Though he could not identify exactly what the deception was.

The door of the telephone box swung open, drawing their attention. Shiori’s hands dropped back to her sides.

A man stepped out.

“Shiori?” he asked, grinning wide. “Is that you? What a pleasant surprise!”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes alight with something suspiciously wet. “But I imagine I don’t look as young and energetic as I used to. It’s been so long.” She looked him up and down. “You’ve changed, just like you told me you would. You’re…” she chuckled slightly. To Kurama’s ears, it sounded strained. “You’re much younger than you used to be.”

“Well,” he said, walking towards her, “technically not. But I never could get the hang of that regeneration stuff.” He stopped short, looking at Kurama as though he had just noticed his presence. “And who might this be?”

She put placed her hand back onto Kurama’s shoulder. “This is my son, Shuichi.” She gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Shuichi, this is the Doctor. He’s an old friend of mine.”

Kurama could smell that this Doctor was not human, although he could sense no demon energy emanating from him. “Doctor?” he asked, masking his suspicion with the youthful curiosity that was expected of him. “Doctor who?”

“Just the Doctor,” said his mother and the Doctor in unison. They looked at each other, sharing a moment of friendly silence— him grinning his wide grin, and her smiling her reserved smile.

“So, you succumbed to the irresistible wiles of domesticity, then?” It was an amicable question in spite of its sarcasm. “Can’t say I’m surprised. Always thought of you as the motherly type. Where’s the hubby?”

The smile disappeared from her face. “He…passed away shortly after Shuichi was born.”

“Oh,” said the Doctor, dejected. “I’m…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, Doctor. There’s no way you could have known.”

Kurama, feeling a little out of place, decided on a diversion that would allow him to collect his thoughts. “Would you like me to put on some tea, Mother?”

She sighed. “Yes please, Shuichi. That would be lovely. And please show the Doctor to the living room, as well. In the meantime, I’ll go call Mister Kazuyu and tell him that something has come up.” She hurried off to the telephone in the office.

Kurama was left alone with the stranger.

“You,” said the stranger, eying him critically, “are not what you say you are.”

“And you,” said Kurama, “are not human.”

The Doctor didn’t budge. “That makes two of us, then. So, what are you?” He continued to eye him. “Slitheen? Nah, you’re a little too thin to be Slitheen.”

“What I am is none of your concern,” said Kurama with more menace than before. “You will answer: Who are you really, and what do you want with my mother?”

“Aren’t you supposed to show me to the living room?”

“Answer the question.”

“I already did. I’m the Doctor.”

Kurama reached into his hair. If the Doctor understood the threat, he made no show of it. “The other half, as well.”

The Doctor finally let up on his scrutiny, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Honestly! What is with you earthlings and everything being about  _sex_?” He walked closer to Kurama, leaning in near enough that their faces were only a few inches apart. Kurama’s hand twitched in his hair, but there was no outward aggression in the Doctor’s movements. It appeared that he was just trying to make Kurama feel uncomfortable.

“Do you want to know what I want with your mother?” The Doctor’s eyes widened almost comically. “ _Absolutely nothing_. You see, me being here? A complete accident. Not planned at all.”

“So then why are you insisting on remaining?” asked Kurama, who held the Doctor’s gaze unwaveringly.

“Insisting?” asked the Doctor. “Did you miss the part where your mum  _asked_  me to stay, or are you just daft?”

Kurama had to concede— the Doctor made a good point. He sighed softly as he let his hand fall harmlessly to his side. “Very well. I’ll show you to the living room.” He turned around, expecting for the Doctor to follow him. “But I warn you— one false move, and you can consider yourself my enemy.”

“Very good,” said the Doctor cheerfully. “Very threatening, that.” Kurama couldn’t tell whether or not the comment was sincere.

He lead the other man to the sofa. “Sit here,” he instructed, not bothering to maintain his polite facade. “I’ll go make the tea.”

He came back a few minutes later to find his mother sitting across from the Doctor in her favorite armchair, the two of them laughing about some nostalgia or another. Kurama felt a pang of something like sadness, but suppressed it easily. It was true that perhaps he had never actually seen his mother laughing so freely, and that it was somebody he barely knew eliciting such a reaction from her. But she was happy— happier than he had seen her in years. Not even Mr. Kazuyu made her smile quite so widely, or made her eyes sparkle quite so much. And he was happy, truly, that she was happy.

But a part of Kurama wished that he himself was the cause, and not this mysterious stranger.

And yet another part of Kurama was dreadfully ashamed at how human he had become.

He set down the tea set more loudly than necessary.

“Oh, thank you, dear,” said his mother, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. “Please have a seat. The Doctor and I were just reminiscing about a rather interesting journey to Betelgeuse 5.”

Kurama was very careful not to appear too tense as he sat down next to the man. “Betelgeuse 5? I don’t believe I’ve heard of that,” he said, genuinely curious.

“You wouldn’t,” said the Doctor. “It isn’t on this world.”

Kurama felt a sudden pang of anxiety. Did this man know about the Demon World? Would he reveal Kurama’s secret to his mother? “It isn’t polite to play tricks on people,” he said, keeping his voice admirably steady. It even sounded like Kurama was making a joke. “Mother, where is it really?”

The smile on his mother’s face took on a sheepish quality. “Oh, he’s not joking, Shuichi. It really  _is_ another planet.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked at him. “I had quite a few… _unusual_  adventures before I met your father.”

Kurama let out an internal sigh of relief. So they hadn’t been talking about the Makai.

But in his relief, it took him a moment to register exactly what his mother had said. “Another…planet?” He asked.

“Yes,” said his mother. “I know that it’s difficult to believe, but it is the truth.” The smile had been replaced with a look of sadness, and perhaps guilt. “I could never muster the courage to tell you. I didn’t want you to think I was insane.” She swallowed, not meeting his eyes. “I mean, who would believe that somebody like  _me_  could have gone gallivanting around space and time with an alien named  _the Doctor_?”

“Mother…” said Kurama. “You know I would never think that you were insane.” She turned her head back to meet his earnest gaze. “You can trust me.”

“I know that,” she said. “I truly do. But fears aren’t often very rational.”

Kurama felt something within him churn, reminded of his own anxieties—of how terrified he was that one day his mother would realize that he was just an impostor. Not her son, as she had always thought, but rather the being that had stolen her son’s life— his name, his face, and his future. A thief, and nothing more.

But he was fairly sure that his own fears were  _very_  rational.

The Doctor, who had been observing silently during the exchange, decided to speak up. “As heartwarming as this conversation is, I really must be off.” He got up and stretched. “Lovely seeing you again, Shiori. Thanks for the tea.” He smirked at Kurama. “And may I just say, you’ve raised a son with a lot of potential.”

Shiori stood as well, giving the Doctor a hug. “That’s high praise, coming from you.” She let go of him. “Goodbye, Doctor. But before you go, could you at least tell me why the TARDIS brought you here?”

He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Just a little dimensional disturbance, as far as I can tell. Nothing major.” When Shiori gave him a pointed look, he amended, “Well, nothing too major. It isn’t an invasion or anything. Definitely something I can handle without much trouble.” There was a bit of an awkward silence. “Well,” said the Doctor. “Do you…want to help?”

Shiori smiled sadly. “No,” she said. “A part of me does, but I realize now that I am a bit too old for that sort of thing.” She took the Doctor’s hand. “You can leave the TARDIS here for the time being, if you like. I know that it doesn’t do well with short distance travel.”

The Doctor nodded. “I will, thanks.” He let go of her hand. “Well, I’m off.”

“Shuichi,” said Shiori softly. “Please show him the door.” She was crying.

“Yes, Mother.” He looked at the Doctor. “Please follow me.”

They walked to the front door in silence. But, as he opened the front door, the Doctor said, “You know, she’s probably more understanding than you give her credit for.”

Kurama’s lips thinned marginally. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just saying,” said the Doctor. “Well, goodbye, whoever-you-are. Take care of her, okay?”

Kurama only nodded.

The Doctor stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

When Kurama and his mother woke up the next morning, the TARDIS was gone.


End file.
